Barack Obama shares childhood tales at bullying conference

US President Barack Obama confessed on Thursday he was taunted as a kid over his "big ears" and unusual name, as he opened a White House summit on preventing bullying.

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US President says he was taunted over the size of his earsPhoto: AFP/GETTY

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Mr Obama, who has written of his own sometimes difficult childhood in Hawaii and IndonesiaPhoto: REUTERS

11:31PM GMT 10 Mar 2011

"Bullying isn't a problem that makes headlines every day, but every day it touches the lives of people all across the country," Mr Obama said, noting a growing movement among young people to combat youth harassment.

"If there is one goal of this conference, it is to dispel the myth that bullying is just a harmless rite of passage or an inevitable part of growing up," Mr Obama said as he opened the conference.

"It's not. Bullying can have destructive consequences for our young people."

The White House said nearly a third of schoolchildren or 13 million students are bullied each year. It said targeted students are more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol and have mental health issues.

It is encouraging schools and the private sector to join efforts against bullying and is highlighting private, non-profit and government prevention efforts.

Mr Obama, who has written of his own sometimes difficult childhood in Hawaii and Indonesia, said as he opened the conference that he had experience being on the receiving end of taunts.

"As adults, we all remember what it was like to see kids picked on in the hallways or in the schoolyard.

"I have to say with big ears and the name that I have, I wasn't immune. I didn't emerge unscathed."

First Lady Michelle Obama noted several high profile cases that have made media headlines that have seen kids driven to distraction and even suicide after they were severely bullied.

"As parents it breaks our hearts to think that any child feels afraid every day in the class room, or on the playground or even online," she said.

"It breaks our hearts to think about any parent losing a child to bullying," Michelle Obama said, at an event which included several families grieving after their offspring committed suicide following harassment at school.

Thursday's daylong conference at the White House included sessions and discussions on cyberbullying, campus bullying and pioneering new programmes to combat harassment of schoolchildren.

Facebook, which millions of young people use to communicate, was streaming a special online live event focusing on cyberbullying.

The company plans to soon unveil two new safety features including a revamped multimedia safety centre with downloadable information for teens and a new system to allow users to report content that violates its rules.